Poland308 wrote:Aquisation through justification!

Also known as the "I don't have one, so therefore I need one" school of thought.

"ROF" equals "reduction of force", a polite way of saying laid off or down-sized. Better than "ROMF", which is a "run-off mother f@#%er", a non-polite way of saying, "fired". Steve S Sorry to hear that, Steve. Hope you're able to line up something e...

I use mine a lot on long runs of MIG also.

Very nice.

Sunday evening, 21 Feb, I ordered the 50' 250V 50A extension cord from Welding Supplies from IOC. Waiting in my email when I got up Monday morning was the notice that it had shipped, and it was on the porch when I got home last night. Excellent shipping time from IN to TX. And shipping was free. Fro...

Well I finally got my AHP Alphatig 200x. Only played with it a couple of nights now but it is doing good. I want to get a stubby gas lens kit but see prices all over the board. Is there a difference between manufactures? This is for the wp-17 torch that came with the machine. Thanks. I have a 2015 ...

Jody's done a couple video series on welding carts. They're both two-level carts, but there's no reason you couldn't build a shorter version of either one with only one shelf. He built 'em out of 1.5" square tube because he got it free, but says that 1", 0.125" wall would do the job j...

We call it "Texas TIG" hereabouts. Had to do it about a month ago on some bad fit-up on a fence made with used oil field pipe. Just knock the flux off an electrode and go for it.

I bought "Metals..." on Jody's recommendation in one of his videos. Excellent book. There are a few others from the Lincoln Foundation on my list to get and "Structures" is one of them. I like the YouTube videos and such, but nothing really beats sitting down with a book and stud...

I bought a Tweco Fabricator 211i a couple months ago on the recommendation of the guy at my LWS. I already have a TIG machine, so I was looking at separate Miller Stick and MIG machines that are 240 volt supply. He recommended that I get the Tweco and get it all in one box and save some money. I did...

echosixmike wrote:If you can spring mount the impact surface, that will help quite a bit. S/F.....Ken M

I hadn't thought of that. I like it.

My quick research show regular old 7018 will work.... That's about the only thing all my meager research agreed on, John. Lot of mention made of the need for a low-hydrogen electrode. Some folks said "never MIG", others were "MIG's OK". Some said no preheat necessary, others sai...

A friend and I are thinking about building a couple of bullet traps. We're considering using AR500 for the angled plate and mild steel for the rest of the trap. Neither one of us have welded AR plate before. Been doing a bit of research and found some conflicting information regarding preheat and po...

I've got a 2015 model. I'm learning how to TIG with it. No grumbles, so far it's working as advertised. Seems to be a well constructed unit.

What can MIG do that TIG cant do? At this point in my welding career, MIG (and stick) allow me to run a bead that does the job and looks pretty darn good. TIG, so far, has only provided me with a series of blobs that Jody would charitably describe as "looking like Fido's butt". :lol: My pr...

IIRC, Keith Fenner did do some SMAW shaft buildup, but I don't remember exactly which videos.

ldb

dunkster, A couple of things I'd look at before modifying anything... Starting at the machine (unplugged, of course), open the connection panel and inspect the direct input connections. Do you see discoloration (brown or black) where the wires are screwed to the input board? Clean them, and retight...

Nothing shameful about that. Looks good.

You might consider affixing one of the headlamps that comes with an elastic headband to your helmet. They're multi-LED and pretty bright.

Nicely done.

I also got an AlphaTiG 200x as a beginning TIG machine. The torch isn't too bad (based on my minimal experience), but I put a stubby gas lens kit from Jody's weldmonger store on it. Seems to make it balance better in the hand. I think my first major upgrade to the unit will be a more conventional fo...

I'm a firm believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and from what I see here, our existing software is doing the job well. I can't really see any advantage to upgrading, with the attendant chance of data loss, unless it actually fixes known problems.

AndersK wrote:Took the bait

Yep, so did I. But it brought back memories of doing the same thing many years ago when I converted my '56 CJ-5 from gen to alt. That's another one on the list of "Vehicles I wish I still had".

ifit wrote:I think it is. I don't have it anymore, sold it & got a Miller AC/DC welder.

Thanks. It was a clean design. A lot more modern looking than the traditional tombstone.

I just carried a Tweco Fabricator 211i home today. I decided on it based on the recommendation of the guy at my LWS, and conversations with a couple guys who run 'em, including John (AKweldshop). I think I'm gonna like it a lot. Very solidly built machine.